Windows 7 migration challenges and best practices for...

Windows 7 migration challenges and best practices for large enterprise and public sector

Dell can provide a holistic Windows 7 migration strategy mapped to customer requirements, underpinned by proven experience, comprehensive services, and automated tools.

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Enterprises Are Upgrading To Modern PCs Powered By Windows 7

Mainstream organizations traditionally take 12 to 18 months before they’re ready to deploy a new Windows desktop operating system to their workforce. Despite the overwhelmingly positive consumer reception Windows 7 has experienced, the OS has proven to not be an exception to this well-established code among IT managers supporting complex infrastructure environments. We’re now more than 18 months after its general availability release in October 2009, and Windows 7 adoption within the enterprise market is accelerating rapidly. In fact, 77% of the IT decision-makers rated a desktop OS upgrade as a critical or major priority over the next 12 to 18 months.

Forrester Consulting’s online survey of 200 large enterprise and public sector organizations in the US, Canada, and the UK with 1,000 or more employees, commissioned by Dell, targeted fi rms that had already migrated at least 20% of its users to Windows 7 to ensure they can share actual costs and benefi ts realized with the upgrade. Of the fi rms surveyed, 10% were actively piloting Windows 7 to their IT administrators and end users, 81% were actively deploying it across the enterprise, and the other 9% had already completed their enterprisewide migrations. IT managers worldwide are facing a hard deadline to be completely removed from their largely Windows XP environments by April 8, 2014, when Windows XP’s extended support phase from Microsoft comes to an end. That means many organizations do not have time to wait for the normal four-year hardware refresh cycle and will need to deploy Windows 7 to both existing and new PCs.

Executive Summary

Today, IT managers worldwide are accelerating their eff orts toward planning for and migrating to Windows 7, and the next 12 to 18 months will be critical. In fact, Forrester Consulting recently completed an online survey of 200 large enterprise and public sector organizations in the US, Canada, and the UK with 1,000 or more employees, commissioned by Dell, concerning their migration plans for Windows 7, and the study found that 93% of fi rms planned on completing their enterprisewide migrations before 2014.

But fi rms are facing a number of migration challenges, including:

1) a lack of governance over their application library and the pervasiveness of rogue applications that are not managed by IT, but are critical to the business;

2) overcoming application compatibility issues associated with both third-party and custom-developed software;

3) overcoming web-based application compatibility issues associated with the upgrade to a modern browser (e.g., IE8 and IE9);

4) automating a “zero-touch” deployment strategy; 5) preparing for future cloud computing and application and desktop virtualization strategies; and 6) determining which users to target fi rst and how best to tailor end user training given the shrinking delivery window in which IT can empower its workforce.

The study survey found that organizations with centralized IT environments off er a better chance for a successful Windows 7 migration due to better governance over their application libraries. Dell believes that Windows 7 provides IT managers with an ideal opportunity to gain control over their end user computing environments by following industry best practices, such as application reduction, accurate software licensing monitoring, reducing local administrative rights, automating PC and OS deployment, and leveraging desktop and application virtualization where appropriate.

Additional benefi ts can be gained through strategic outsourcing of planning and migration functions. Let’s face it; most organizations don’t have extra IT resources to turn to for inventorying, testing, and remediating their applications for Windows 7 or next year’s Windows 8. In fact, most fi rms that are largely standardized on Windows XP haven’t been through a similar eff ort in fi ve5 years or more and may lack the key personnel who led these projects previously. Organizations should consider turning to Dell, which has systems that can unleash the full potential of Windows 7 and thorough end user computing migration expertise and experience from planning and testing to imaging and fi nal rollout, including application compatibility testing and remediation.

Windows 7 migration challenges and best practices for Large Enterprise and Public Sector

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IT Managers Are Facing A Number Of Windows 7 Migration Challenges

IT managers who support hundreds, if not thousands, of applications quickly realize the complexity associated with delivering a modern PC experience built on Windows 7 due to its impact on the applications, infrastructure, support processes, and IT staff and end users. And the migration to Windows 7, in particular, represents a unique challenge for two reasons: 1) it’s the fi rst major OS transition in the past fi ve to eight years, as fi rms move directly from Windows XP to Windows 7, skipping Windows Vista entirely, and 2) a signifi cant number of applications that work in XP will need remediation for Windows 7.

IT managers often face the following Windows 7 migration challenges:

• A lack of governance over their application library and the pervasiveness of rogue applications. One of the fi rst steps fi rms need to take in the preparation for Windows 7 is to assess the state of their application ecosystem. This usually entails inventorying applications, tracking down application owners, tiering applications, testing for compatibility, and then remediating applications via retirement, upgrading, recoding, shimming, and virtualizing. What makes this particularly challenging is that most fi rms are moving from Windows XP, and historically, IT had to provision a larger percentage of users with full local administrative rights than perhaps they would have preferred due to limitations in the OS. This enabled users to introduce many rogue, or unmanaged, applications that the business now relies on to function. This explains why 46% of fi rms are very concerned about inventorying their apps and getting control over all of the applications the business depends on, which will go a long way in reducing application bloat and lessen the need for local administrative rights. According to the survey, large

enterprises knowingly support an average of 1,370 applications worldwide across a mix of delivery architectures (see Figure 1 and see Figure 2). And keep in mind that these fi gures don’t include the rogue and unmanaged applications that IT doesn’t yet govern.

• Overcoming application compatibility issues. IT managers must conduct an application inventory to identify all of the

applications that need to be governed by IT. IT managers must also test applications in a nonproduction Windows 7 test lab, and Dell recommends considering the impact Windows 7 has on custom-developed applications in addition to off -the-shelf or

third-party apps and whether their hardware and device drivers are compatible. This process is one that 43% of fi rms haven’t completed

Figure 1.Base: 200 IT decision-makers responsible for desktop OS migration strategies

Source: A commissioned survey conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dell



Figure 1: Firms support, on average, 1,370 total applications worldwide

Figure 2: An average user is provisioned with 35 “thick client” apps plus 15 Web apps


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in at least three years, and those that have leverage a variety of sources for application inventorying, including client management scans (73%), departmental head surveys (41%), user surveys (39%), Microsoft’s Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) (24%), and other tools (6%).

• Overcoming browser compatibility issues. IT managers often overlook web-based applications when evaluating their readiness for a Windows 7 migration and all too frequently underestimate IE8 and/or IE9 as a barrier for upgrading. In fact, IE8 and IE9 require developers to conform to rigorous standards and rules. Consequently, there are serious problems in getting the older-style (e.g., IE6) applications to run on the newer browsers.

• Assessing hardware readiness. IT managers are often tasked with conducting a full asset inventory to understand which client hardware is Windows 7-capable. Considerations IT managers must keep in mind include the costs to maintain your aging hardware, peripheral support, 32-bit versus 64-bit support implications, and whether the fi rm can benefi t from an alternative computing strategy, such as application and desktop virtualization.

• Determining the right migration strategy. IT managers must determine whether Windows 7 is part of a broader PC replacement cycle or whether it’s an opportunity to extend the life of its existing assets by an additional one to two years. Desktop engineers must test and package applications, spec , and build; certify images; and automate the deployment process with supporting tools and infrastructure. IT managers often struggle with defi ning a single automated solution for campus, remote, and home offi ces that are highly scalable because of low infrastructure requirements. Firms must be able to drive continuous improvement, so when they’re ready to upgrade users to Windows 8, it will serve as almost a nonevent.

• Preparing for the future of cloud computing and application and desktop virtualization. With server virtualization now well-established in the world’s data centers, IT managers are turning their attention toward client virtualization to address some of their toughest computing challenges. But there’s often confl icting guidance and endless architectures to consider. Because there’s no one-size-fi ts-all solution for all user types and application workloads, IT managers are fi nding that it will take a combination of technologies and vendor solutions to deliver the richest computing experience to your distributed and increasingly mobile workforce. Firms often require help with their implementation planning, with everything from infrastructure requirements, build, and confi guration to application sequencing, image creation, virtual desktop provisioning, and user migration schedules and timescales.

• Determining which users to target fi rst and end user training. IT managers and training consultants must expose their users to what has or has not changed within the new applications, teach new or enhanced shortcuts and fi le/folder management practices, and discuss new tools, even troubleshooting and support tools for IT administrators. But it’s not Windows 7 that IT managers are doubling their eff orts against but rather the new “ribbon” UI in Offi ce and multitabbed browsers in the form of IE , Firefox, and Chrome that are receiving the most attention. And IT is delivering this training through a variety of delivery mechanisms, such as lunch and learns, departmental training, eLearning and instructional DVDs, “Welcome to Windows 7!” kits, banners and posters, kiosks and live demos, 2-minute tips and tricks videos, and even Mac versus PC parody commercials.

Centralized IT Environments Off er A Better Chance For A Successful Migration

To overcome these Windows 7 migration challenges, IT leaders are revisiting their PC life cycles and incorporating industry best practices, such as:

• Tying migrations to a larger PC replacement cycle and deploying 64-bit hardware and software. Sixty percent of fi rms are exclusively deploying Windows 7 on new PCs, and an additional 29% are taking a hybrid approach, meaning they’re deploying Windows 7 both on existing PCs when they’re capable of running it and new PCs when it’s more cost-eff ective to replace the hardware. Hardware renewal should be tied to the migrations to deliver the greatest return, and fi rms should embrace 64-bit hardware due to the performance, security, and stability benefi ts.

• Gaining control over your application library is a critical second step to a successful Windows 7 migration. IT managers should start by scanning their networks and discovering applications that reside on corporate PCs. Incomplete lists can unexpectedly delay migration plans upon discovery. Centralized IT administrators should be tasked with removing applications with overlapping functions and engaging application owners as necessary. The survey found that 27% of fi rms will save $1 million or more annually due to a better understanding into their application libraries (see Figure 3).

• Investing in application compatibility testing and remediation tools and managed services to decrease the cost of deployment. Tools and managed services are available that can test applications for compatibility with Windows 7. The optimal approach is to test in a real-world environment with a production ready image running Windows 7. After testing on-


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premises, web-based, and virtual applications, administrators can assign applications with green, amber/yellow, or red status based on whether the application is natively compatible with Windows 7; not natively compatible with Windows 7 but there’s a known workaround, such as shimming or repackaging; or not natively compatible with Windows 7 and there’s no known workaround, meaning the application is a candidate for retirement,

replacement, redevelopment, or virtualization. The study found that approximately half of applications require some amount of remediation to be made compatible with Windows 7 (see Figure 4).

• Centrally managing the application rationalization process and investing in web and virtual applications. Decisions must be made on which applications should be retired, upgraded, shimmed, recoded, or virtualized, and IT managers

must work hand-in-hand with their application owners within the business. Firms should centrally manage the user acceptance testing, which should be done by application users themselves. While the continued shift to web-based and virtual applications (e.g., Microsoft App-V, Citrix XenApp, VMware ThinApp) will lower complexity over the long term, the study found that 62% of fi rms consume between six and 18 months for the application compatibility testing and remediation process to complete (see Figure 5 and see Figure 6).

• Reducing local administrative rights whenever possible to remove unnecessary application bloat. Most fi rms deploying Windows 7 are standardizing their users on the standard user account as opposed to an administrator account as a means of limiting rogue and unmanaged applications and reducing ongoing support costs. In fact, 67% have rated themselves as very concerned (i.e., a 7, 8, 9, or 10 on a 10-point scale) about inventorying their complete PC applications list and getting control over rogue applications.

• Embracing automated deployment approaches (e.g., light or zero touch) and managed services and support. Firms generally choose between a high-touch, medium-touch, light-touch, and zero-touch deployment approach when migrating to Windows 7. High-touch deployments are not automated and require manual intervention at most stages as opposed to zero-touch approaches in which all processes are automated. Although most IT managers strive for a zero-touch deployment, just 5% succeeded and only 25% were able to deploy with a light-touch approach. Determining the right approach is heavily infl uenced by the IT resources available across sites, whether the sites are in low-bandwidth locations such as home offi ces or branch offi ces that are very complex to support and often require separate processes, the number of users





Figure 3: 27% of fi rms will save $1 million or more annually

Figure 4: Half of locally installed apps are natively compatible with Windows 7


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within the environment, and how well-managed the local network is. Achieving light- or zero-touch deployment is absolutely possible, but it requires application packaging as a prerequisite.

• If the skills are missing internally, consider extending relationships with strategic third-party vendors. Over the next 18 months, 75% of fi rms anticipate completing their enterprisewide Windows 7 migration. But completing it on schedule requires understanding the potential, making informed decisions, laying the path for success, and executing with minimal disruption. Half of the fi rms surveyed will leverage third-party assessment and migration/deployment managed services, and approximately one-third of the overall Windows 7 migration budget will go to vendors with a strong Microsoft partnership, extensive Windows 7 expertise and experience, and services for any and all phases of the transition (see Figure 8).

Centralized IT Environments Off er A Better Chance For A Successful Migration

Desktop and application virtualization has existed across a number of fl avors for more than 20 years and over its history, has suff ered from false starts as IT managers struggle with the cost and complexity of the solutions. This has been exacerbated by vendor, media, and analyst hype on solutions that haven’t lived up to expectations. But there are a number of compelling factors converging today that are driving it to mainstream adoption status, including the pressures to lower ongoing costs, the immediate demands to support employee-owned devices, and the long-term vision of becoming device- and OS-independent.

Arguably, the most compelling justifi cation for IT executives is that for more than 20 years, you’ve been locked in a seemingly never-ending rip-and-replace refresh cycle — turning over

Figure 5: Firms embrace Web and virtual apps as means to reduce portfolio complexities

Figure 6: 62% of fi rms take between 6 & 18 months to test and remediate apps for Windows 7






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desktops and laptops every three to fi ve years. And when you need to deploy a new Windows OS, you’re forced to invest millions of dollars to prepare your software and hardware ecosystem for native compatibility with the OS. And at the end of the day, what’s yourreward? You’ll have to do it all over again in another three to fi ve years when systems reach end of life. Desktop and application virtualization, when used together, will reduce the dependenciesthat OSes have on the hardware and applications have on the OS and will enable fi rms to gradually move away from this never-ending rip-and-replace cycle IT leaders facilitate all too frequently. Windows 7 is driving an infl ection point today, and we recommend IT teams to use this time to prepare for future computing environments.

Firms Should Embrace Dell Windows 7 Managed Services

Dell can provide a holistic migration strategy mapped to customer requirements underpinned by proven experience, comprehensive services, and automated tools.

Dell off ers a comprehensive set of services and the expertise and experience to enable a smooth migration to Windows 7 — from planning and testing to imaging and fi nal rollout, including application inventory, rationalization, compatibility testing, and remediation. The Dell ProConsult Application Inventory and Analysis service identifi es the applications in your environment while comprehensive Windows 7 Application Compatibility

Readiness (ACR) testing can determine whether locally installed and web-based applications are ready to work with Windows 7. Dell can also help with software rationalization and identify those that should be retired before migration — helping organizations to reduce costs during the migration and gain control over their application libraries and standards.

For applications that fall into the amber/yellow category based on the ACR results, Dell can provide





Figure 7: 67% of fi rms are concerned about application inventorying

Figure 8: Firms strategically outsource application rationalization programs


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application remediation services to prepare the applications for Windows 7. Dell can also package the application library for Windows 7 to enable automated deployment and reduce ongoing PC management costs. For organizations whose migration plans include virtualization, Dell can design and implement solutions to meet the requirements of their individual environments, including virtualization software tools from Microsoft, Citrix, and VMware. Dell Virtual Desktop as a Service (VDaas) provides a cloud computing environment to further simplify management and reduce IT costs.

Although Windows 7 migration is a major concern for organizations, these and other Dell services are designed to help IT staff leverage the Windows 7 migration as a “trigger event” to fundamentally get control over the application library, automate deployment, and reduce ongoing IT management costs. By taking advantage of these services, following best practices when preparing for a migration, and understanding the available remediation options, IT administrators can help ensure a smooth and successful transition and begin realizing the benefi ts of Windows 7.

Conclusions

Windows 7 is the fi rst OS that fi rms are aggressively pushing to existing PCs as well as new PCs. Automation is reducing the cost of deployment to the point where IT managers would rather standardize on the new OS quickly rather than wait for the PC refresh cycle. But because approximately half of fi rms’ existing applications are not natively compatible with Windows 7, fi rms are risking project delays or failures if their applications aren’t thoroughly discovered, tested, and validated for the inevitable enterprisewide migration to Windows 7. And because very few companies have application testers sitting around idle waiting for an OS upgrade that arrives every three to 10 years, fi rms need to fi nd the right balance of investing in internal and external resources where appropriate to ensuring the most secure, manageable, and fl exible end user

computing environment for your increasingly decentralized and mobile workforce.

Recommendations

According to Dell, IT managers should start with a four-step approach to striking the right balance between enabling business productivity without compromising security, manageability, and cost. Specifi cally, IT managers should:

• Conduct a workforce technology

needs assessment. Technology is a diff erentiator in today’s business world. Providing your employees with the tools they need to do their job is critically important. Why? The proper tools can decrease your time-to-market by making your workers more effi cient. They can help workers eff ectively collaborate. They can entice prospective employees. The key is selecting the right tool kits for the workforce. And in this task, IT leaders need to be more sophisticated because employees have a greater understanding of technology thanks to exposure to software and devices in their personal lives. To do this, IT leaders must ground their decisions in a deep understanding of the issues aff ecting individual workers. Progressive fi rms are conducting workforce technology needs assessments as the fi rst step — among other technology initiatives, such as Windows 7, PC refreshes, client virtualization, and cloud computing — in defi ning their next-generation client computing strategy. This fact-based segmentation initiative helps fi rms understand which workforce technologies map to which user segments and which users can be empowered through consumerization.

• Defi ne the next-gen client

computing strategy with Windows

7, consumerization, and BYOD

in mind. Once the workforce technology needs assessment is complete, IT more clearly understands the requirements of its

workers and can start designing its next-generation client computing strategy based on these unique requirements. At this stage, fi rms must: 1) decide on the appropriate device platforms such as Windows 7 and application policies, and 2) recruit the appropriate stakeholders in the business, legal, HR, and fi nance departments to develop and enforce these policies.

• Embrace desktop and application

virtualization as enabling

technology for the next-generation

platforms. Client virtualization and cloud computing can help IT managers bring a measure of control to an increasingly chaotic environment while not stifl ing employee fl exibility and innovation. By leveraging these emerging technology tools, IT managers can support user choice and manage the essentials of consumerization. While in parallel, fi rms must aggressively upgrade users to modern desktop environments powered by Windows 7 to reduce costs, maximize productivity, and improve business effi ciency and customer satisfaction.

• Update organizational policies to

empower workers while protecting

the integrity of the business. IT managers must collaborate with their legal, HR, and fi nance departments as well as line-of-business managers to determine whether and how their existing policies can be extended to their modern client computing environments. The resulting policies must be agreed to by all users who wish to be included in pilots such as the BYOD programs, IT should require the approval of their direct managers as there may be chargeback and support implications, and users should be encouraged to go to their self-service website or portal for program enrollment, getting started instructions, and ongoing support.

Learn more about Dell’s Windows 7 migration strategy by visiting:

www.dell.com/Win7 ©2011 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. V090211

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